1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to manufacturing of parts and more particularly relates to maintaining orientation of parts during manufacturing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Injection molding, cast metal fabricating, metal stamping, and other manufacturing processes often require multiple steps. For example a manufactured part may be initially formed during one step of a manufacturing process. In another step of the manufacturing process, the manufactured part may be painted, plated, silk screened with a logo, machined, placed in an assembly, or other process. Often parts are created by forming the part in a manufacturing machine using some sort of mold or dye.
For example raw plastic is fed into an injection molding machine and the mold is filled with raw plastic through a sub-gate into a mold. Once plastic has filled the mold, the injection molding machine opens the mold and the manufactured part falls into a bin. The manufactured part loses orientation as it falls into the bin. Parts formed using a cast metal process, a stamped metal process, and the like may also be dropped into a bin after the parts are formed.
Where the manufacturing process involves another step, the manufactured parts must be reoriented into a position for another machine to place the part, silkscreen a logo onto the part, place the part in a container for shipping, plate a portion of the part, etc. Manually reorienting manufactured parts is usually labor intensive or may involve an expensive machine to pick the parts or vibrate the parts into a correct position.
Another way to maintain orientation of manufactured parts may involve some type of conveyer belt, assembly line, or the like. Parts may be moved onto a conveyer right from the manufacturing machine that formed the part. Moving the manufactured parts without losing orientation of the part may be tricky and expensive. In addition, conveyers, assembly lines, etc. may also be expensive.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system, and/or method that maintain orientation of a manufactured part throughout a manufacturing process. Beneficially, such an apparatus, system, and method would provide a carrier that would allow a manufactured part to be formed onto prongs of the carrier. The carrier may be uncoiled from a reel into a manufacturing machine and then coiled onto another reel with the manufactured parts held in a correct orientation.